Refrigerator evaporator door



Nov. 16, 1954 R. A. JANSEN REFRIGERATOR EVAPORATOR DOOR Filed Oct. 17, 1950 I N V EN TOR.

ROBERT A JA/VSEN A T TOR/V5 Y.

United States PatentO REFRIGERATOR EVAPORAYIIOR. DDQR- Robert Alexander Jansen, Cincinnati, Ohio; assignor' to Avco' Manufacturing Corporation; Cincinnati," Oh o; a corporation-of Delaware Application October 17', 1950; Seri'alNo. 190,543 4 Claims; 61'.- ro -35y The present invention relates: generally try-refrigerators, more; specifically to an: improved; constructionfor an evaporator door and its mounting'within a refrigerator.

During recent years horizontally disposed evaporators have become: quite popular and are usedin a num ber of household refrigerators. It is: customary when such an evaporator is used to: provide a. door, hinged about a horizontal line, which in its closed position isolates the volume within the evaporator from the remaining food storage space of the refrigerator. Doors of this typemay be made in a variety of ways-,although. for thepurposes of the; present invention itisconsidered desirable, though not necessary, to employ molded plastic components for the door.

The present invention-concerns: the provisionof a pair of springs disposed substantiallywithjn; the evaporator door so as to be invisible to the user of the refrigera- I tor. More, particularly it is an object of the present invention to provide return. springs for restoring the door to. its closedposition which also act to hold the door against a pair of stationary pins mounted on the side walls of the refrigerator cabinet to insureapivotal motion of the door about the pins at all times.

An important object of the present invention is to provide animproved means for mountingan evaporator door which is. notonly attractive and economical to produce but also extremely" simple and very easily assembled to the associated refrigerator cabinet.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved structure for mounting anz evaporatordoor which supports the door so that it maybe used in its horizontal open position as ,a' supportingsurface for ice trays and other utensils. I

A particular advantage of the invention is" that: conventional hinges, usually used with evaporator doors; are eliminated and are replaced merely by a pair of return springs and two pairs of simple transverse pins secured to the side walls of the refrigerator.

A further object of the invention is to provide for an evaporator door a return spring, the body of which remains spaced from the interior of the door at all times so as to preclude the transmission thereto of objectionable vibrations.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims; the invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of a specific embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows in vertical elevation to a reduced scale the upper portion of a household refrigerator having a horizontal evaporator and an evaporator door, shown in its closed position;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on plane 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the construction at the edge of the evaporatgr door and the side wall of the refrigerator cabinet; an

Fig. 3 is an end view of the evaporator door taken on plane 33 of Fig. 1 showing the installation of a return spring within the door, parts of the door being broken away to facilitate the following description.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown associated with a household refrigerator, generally designated 1, having a horizontal evaporator 2 at the lower edge of which is pivotally positioned an evapora- "ice 2Q tor door 3. The-refrigerator includes; an inn'enline 4 and. an outer 81161155 betweentwh' lrisdisposedtherrnal insulation 6: maintained .inposition. by a: forwardly dis? posed break-en strip-. 73; thereby defining ithewall's of. a refrigerator cabinet. Evaporator. 2..and'door 3 define a frozen food: storage spaeeewhich-i is: aficessiblaby opening: the door.

The evaporator door may be madew inaaavariety 0 ways but, preferably, i'szmolded: fronr a thermoplastic, such as polystyrene, inzsectionsiwhiehzniaybe joined: to make. an enclosurein whichis disposedfthermal insulation 8. With particular referent; -to:.Figs. landthe present invention. comprehend's the provisionofan in.- tegrally. molded slot or recess: 9: a-tzea'chiend. ofttheeva-po, rator door which is bounded; byifront. and. rear walls 10 and 10a respectively;, andtop-wallwhlaa Removable metal end plates 12 are: secured tothe ends' of the evaporator door by screws 13 and cooperate with recesses 9 indefining a box-like enclosure in which is positioned-.21 returnspring14 at each end. of the evaporator door.

As indicated in Fig; 3. each. return: springds. engaged at one. end with: a. projectingilug 11:5, formed integrally with and projecting; from end walls 16 of theevaporator door. The other end-.of each spring, 14a, passes through an opening: at theloweruendxof slot: 9 and engages a metal pin 17 which is removably secured tothe refrigerator cabinet as will be described; Another: pin-18 isalso secured to the.refrigeratorcabinet at-each end of the evaporator door. andengages a Uz-s-haped slot 19' formed at the lower end: of each. plate-1'2. :as well: as in the lower portion of the door.- proper-.1 Aswilli be:described presently, the tension of spring;14=ten1ds'to:.hold the evaporator door in bearing. relationship with: pins '1 8;at alltimes so that the evaporatordoor.mtaypinot: about these pins when it is openedbybeing. g-rasped'by finger gn'p20 and pulled forwardly and downwardly;

With. particular referencemto 'Fig.:'2', it will be noted that a nut-strip 21-is-secured to: the interior: surface: of the inner liner. at each end of the evaporator: door... This strip" is secured tother'wallsoftherefrigeratonby conven tional fasteners before'the: evaporatondoor isassembled therewith.- Holes .22 are" providedliirilinen4 tozperrnit the passage of pins 17 and 18 through the liner and into threadedengagement: with threadedwop'enings providedxin strips .21corresponding;to-iholes- 22.) Flanges 17a and 18a may bet-provided on pins: 17: and 18,. respe'c tively, to increase: thevbearing area against the. face of the-liner;

.Pins 17 andwls may: be :ident-teallainxalt respects: to facilitate. manufacturer When the two pins have been secured to each refrigerator wall, the evaporator door, with springs 14 disposed in position within recess 9 and plates 12 in place, is lifted and slid into engagement with pins 18. During this engagement, lower corner portions 12a pass between pins 17 and 18 at each side of the refrigerator. When pins 18 are bearing against the top of slots 19, the lower ends 14a of springs 14 are gradually loaded and engaged with pins 17. This engagement of the springs with pins 17 completes the assembly of the evaporator door which can then be swung about the common transverse line, defined by the axes of pins 18, from an open horizontal position to a closed vertical position shown in Fig. 1. It is considered desirable to provide grooves 17b in pins 17 hold ends 14a of the spring in engagement therewit Projections 12b may be provided on the lower ends of plates 12 to prevent the door from being pulled out i of engagement with pins 18 when the door is open. The full open position of the door is determined by the engagement of pins 17 with edges 23 of plates 12.

In addition to being a decorative covering for recesses 9, plates 12 strengthen the assembled door, making possible the use of relatively weak plastics. For this reason, plates 12 are formed to engage fully the edges at the ends of the door thus increasing its beam strength. Furthermore, the lower ends of the plates improve the bearing strength of the assembled door on pins 18 and resist effectively the bending moments, particularly in corner portions 12a, incidental to use of the door as a supporting shelf when in its open position.

A review of the herein disclosed structure will reveal that springs 14 are almost totally enclosed and, with the exception of lower ends 14a; are not visible to the user of the refrigerator. At all times the evaporator door 1s held contiguous to pins 18 by the force of springs 14 acting on pins 17 and lugs of the'evaporator door proper. Pins 18 ride against the upper portions of U- shaped slots 19 functioning as hinges and eliminate the need for hinges of the conventional type usually used.

The energy stored in springs 14 is sufficient to return the door to its closed position after it is released from the open position. When fully closed, pins 17 are d18- posed within semi-circular notches 24 provided at the lower ends of plates 12. It will be apparent that the springs are entirely invisible when the door is closed.

An important refinement of the present invention is the provision of bight 25 in each spring 14. As the refrigerator door is opened bight 25 gradually approaches and comes into contact with inner surface 26 of wall 10a. the door reduces friction and prevents the body of the spring from setting up a vibratory, noisy chatter against the door.

Use of the present evaporator door makes possible the support of ice trays and other such utensils on the evaporator door when in its open position. To facilitate such use, ribs 27 are formed integrally with the rear wall of the door. These ribs not only strengthen the structure but provide narrow supporting surfaces for engaging the utensils, thus preventing scratching or marring of the door proper.

Should a spring 14 require replacement, it is merely necessary to open the evaporator door sufliciently to expose ends 14a of the springs which, after disengagement from pins 17, permit the door to be withdrawn from pins 18. It is then a simple matter to remove screws 13 and replace springs 14, if necessary.

It will be obvious to those versed in the art that the herein disclosed structure simplifies the assembly of an evaporator door to the cabinet of a refrigerator. The simple construction eliminates standard hinges which must be accurately screwed or otherwise secured to the side walls of the refrigerator and also greatly simplifies the refrigerator assembly procedure with obvious resulting savings when used in mass production.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of my invention, I claim:

1. An evaporator door installation for use in a refrigerator cabinet having side walls comprising an evaporator door formed to define open ended slots at its lower corners, rigid members projecting transversely from the side walls of the cabinet, the slots of said evaporator door being positioned to engage said projecting members, said evaporator door being further formed to define elon- Such engagement of the bight with the wall of gated substantially enclosed recesses at each side thereof, tension springs invisibly disposed within the recesses, anchoring means on said evaporator door and the refrigerator side walls between which said springs are stretched, whereby said evaporator door is maintained yieldingly against said projecting members.

2. An evaporator door installation for use in a refrigerator cabinet having side walls comprising a door formed to define open ended slots at the lower corners thereof, said slots extending parallel to the ends of the door, rigid members projecting transversely from the side walls of the cabinet, the slots of said door being engaged with said projecting members, said door being further formed to define elongated substantially enclosed recesses at each end thereof, openings through the rear face of said door in communication with the lower ends of said recesses, tension springs invisibly disposed within the recesses, one end of each tension spring being secured to an anchoring means within each recess, the springs extending through the openings at the lower ends of the recessei and being secured to the cabinet side walls adjacent sai projecting members whereby the springs are tensione thereby holding the slots of said door in bearing engage ment with said projecting members at all times.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which said tension springs are formed to define projections bearing against said evaporator door whereby transmission of vibration from said springs to said door is minimized.

4. An evaporator door installation for use in a refrigerator cabinet having side walls comprising an evaporator door having open ended slots at its lower corners, rigid members projecting transversely from the side walls of the cabinet, the slots of said evaporator door being in engagement with said projecting members, said evaporator door being further formed to define elongated substantially enclosed recesses at each side thereof, springs invisibly disposed within the recesses in bearing relationship with said evaporator door, anchoring means on the refrigerator side walls with which said springs are engaged, whereby said evaporator door is maintained yieldingly against said projecting members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,511,020 Borchart Oct. 7, 1924 7 2,110,635 Rosebrook Mar. 8, 1938 2,145,674 Visser Jan. 31, 1939 2,353,361 Rosebrook July 11, 1944 2,492,084 Almquist Dec. 20, 1949 2,500,057 Borgerd et al. Mar. 7, 1950 2,571,600 Nave Oct. 16, 1951 

